August 20, 2005 - L.A. to Port Canaveral - Eastbound Repo Cruise - The SHIP OF FOOLS Part 2

[izzinmac]

I think so too! Being such a huge Disney fan it is horrible that I haven't visited Walt's original yet. I'm really excited to see some of the differences between Disneyland and The Magic Kingdom. See how things changed between the two parks.

And, your point about the traffic is a good one. Perhaps we'll skip the car and either stay closer to Disney or work something else out.

A group of us is also staying at HoJos accross the street from DL, and chartering a bus to the port on Saturday. Rates and reviews are excellent for HoJos, and they have been very helpful with the charter. Room rates are in the $70 - $90 range and the bus looks like it will run around $10 per person. If interested, let me know and I will repost the details on getting the special HoJo rates and put you on the bus list.

Bob

 

[kmiles]

Thanks for the info Bob.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. I never knew vacationing could be so tough.

 

[outahere]

I thought I'd drop in on you and mention something you may now know about. You'll have a very special guest on your trip, Donald 'Ducky' Williams, Disney character artist. He's on with us now, and announced he'll be on 9 cruises next year, including both repo's and the SS Member Cruise.

That's great news.......... he was on our Magic cruise this past April and my wife won a drawing of Donald Duck that he did while he was giving his presentation. We also got a couple signed postcards and went to a "Learn how to draw Mickey" session he held. Can't wait to see him again.

Ed

 

[DenverVal]

For all you Fools who will be visiting LA before the cruise, here's something else to see while you're there--King Tut's treasures will be at the LA Museum of Art from June 16 through November 15. According to the news article I read ( http://scj.msnbc.com/id/6645691 ), it will also tour in Ft Lauderdale in December and Chicago in May and a fourth as yet undetermined location. More info at www.KingTut.org. Just in case you don't have a full enough schedule already. I saw them when they came through in the 70s and it was awesome. They had about 55 artifacts then, this time will be about 130!

 

[Mom2Belle&PeterPan]

And, your point about the traffic is a good one. Perhaps we'll skip the car and either stay closer to Disney or work something else out.

Hi kmiles,

We live in a little suburb which is right next to Long Beach. Best case scenario, it takes us 20 minutes with no traffic to get to the DL/DCA parking lot (via the freeways). When there is traffic, we take the streets and it can take up to 45 minutes. We (Long beach area) are 20 to 30 minutes from San Pedro.

That being said, with no traffic you could get to from DL to San Pedro in 40 minutes. Worst case scenario is just what Marsha said, two hours. Friday traffic will be horrid, just count on that. Saturday traffic is not so bad, especially in the morning.

If I were you, I think I'd come with izzinmac on their bus, unless you plan to go to our beaches like carolsherman(carolsherman, I think it is wise for you to have a rental car here with all you are doing - your boys will love the beaches!)

Dh and I will be happy to give you guys some routes to take should you hit the dreaded traffic while here.

Cheers,

Barbara

 

[Luv2Dream]

That's great news about Ducky Williams. He was on our cruise this past April and we bid on one of his signed framed lithographs and won one. We also bought a signed, unframed one and had it done ourselves once we got back home. So, our collection of two might just become three with him on board. Oh, my checkbook......my poor, poor checkbook

 

[kmiles]

Hi kmiles,

We live in a little suburb which is right next to Long Beach. Best case scenario, it takes us 20 minutes with no traffic to get to the DL/DCA parking lot (via the freeways). When there is traffic, we take the streets and it can take up to 45 minutes. We (Long beach area) are 20 to 30 minutes from San Pedro.

That being said, with no traffic you could get to from DL to San Pedro in 40 minutes. Worst case scenario is just what Marsha said, two hours. Friday traffic will be horrid, just count on that. Saturday traffic is not so bad, especially in the morning.

If I were you, I think I'd come with izzinmac on their bus, unless you plan to go to our beaches like carolsherman(carolsherman, I think it is wise for you to have a rental car here with all you are doing - your boys will love the beaches!)

Dh and I will be happy to give you guys some routes to take should you hit the dreaded traffic while here.

Cheers,

Barbara

Thanks for the info Barbara. It's nice to have "insiders" information for the area. I'm re-thinking our plan now and may end up at the Ho Jo and take advantage of Bob's transportation. Can't beat $10.00 and he's already taken care of all the leg work!

Thanks again!

 

[mississaugamom]

For all you Fools who will be visiting LA before the cruise, here's something else to see while you're there--King Tut's treasures will be at the LA Museum of Art from June 16 through November 15. According to the news article I read ( http://scj.msnbc.com/id/6645691 ), it will also tour in Ft Lauderdale in December and Chicago in May and a fourth as yet undetermined location. More info at www.KingTut.org. Just in case you don't have a full enough schedule already. I saw them when they came through in the 70s and it was awesome. They had about 55 artifacts then, this time will be about 130!

WOW, I would love to see the Tut Exhibit!!!! I saw it when it toured Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum (early 80's?) and thought it was just awesome. After just posting about NOT planning to rent a car, too!

How far is the LA Country Museum from Anaheim????? It will be really tempting to try to see this too!

Arlene

 

[DenverVal]

How far is the LA Country Museum from Anaheim????? It will be really tempting to try to see this too!

I don't remember it's been so long since I lived there! North on the 5 and west on the 10 almost to the beach, I think about an hour....Barbara, maybe you can help, please?

 

[Mom2Belle&PeterPan]

I don't remember it's been so long since I lived there! North on the 5 and west on the 10 almost to the beach, I think about an hour....Barbara, maybe you can help, please?

Hi Val and Arlene,

Distance from LA County Museum of Art from DL/DCA is 36 miles, 42 minutes in time without traffic. Double and triple the time factor with traffic -it can be a tough drive. Dh thinks there is a trolley that can take you right to the area, we'll look in to this further if you are interested, let me know.

Thanks Val, what a great exhibit to look forward to seeing!

Barbara

 

[Grumbo]

Yeah Arlene I went to the King Tut exhibit when it was in Toronto. Really neat.
We went to Egypt on our honeymoon and went through the Egyptian Museum in Cairo where they have tons of exhibits from Tutahnkamen's tomb and many others, and then the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. It was the year after all of the tourists had been killed by the terrorists. Stupid really going so close afterwards but oh well we lived

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[carolsherman]

Yes Barbara the beaches are beautiful but they were cold we were out in California to visit last July and I took the boys to the Mission Bay Beach in San Diego boy I thought our beaches on the east were cold. We did Disneyland, Universal and San Diego. What other things would you recommend???

Which beach would you recommend for a mom and 2 boys 10 and 13 to visit?

King Tut sounds awesome

 

[DenverVal]

If your boys love rollercoaster/thrill rides, then definitely Six Flags Magic Mountain! It's north of the LA basin, worth the trip. Also Raging Waters, out in my old neck of the woods, San Dimas, about 45 minutes east.

 

[Luv2Dream]

Unfortunately I can't remember who gave the suggestion for Karmel shuttle, but thank you. We just booked our pickup for our arrival on 8/17/05 online. Very easy to do. I was happy to have a suggestion as the list of shuttle service was very long and I would not have known who to choose.

 

[piglet33]

Hey Guys,

I know we have some time before our cruise, but I found this site www.cheapestees.com that has the Hanes Beefy T-Shirts dirt cheap. I bought shirts from them when I made our shirts for our October cruise and they came out great. Anyway, I just ordered a bunch since I'm making shirts for this cruise and for October 2006 too. I also saved an extra 15% off their sale prices. With shipping and the discounts, I wound up spending about $43 for 10 shirts (3 shirts for Haley and 7 shirts for me and Lenny). If anyone wants to use them, use Coupon Code: BNNS04 at checkout.

Reneé

 

[kmiles]

Bob--

I think we've decided to go with the HoJo's and the bus charter. Would very much appreciate the info when you get a chance. Thanks in advance!


Renee--

That is a great deal on the shirts. They are a great thing to pack for the cruises too. Light-weight (both on and in the suitcase), great for almost any occasion on the trip (except, perhaps, dinner), and they come in so many cool colors!


Oh, don't want to forget, we hve new cruisers!!!!!

 

[Mom2Belle&PeterPan]

Yes Barbara the beaches are beautiful but they were cold we were out in California to visit last July and I took the boys to the Mission Bay Beach in San Diego boy I thought our beaches on the east were cold. We did Disneyland, Universal and San Diego. What other things would you recommend???

Which beach would you recommend for a mom and 2 boys 10 and 13 to visit?

King Tut sounds awesome

Hi Carol,

Yes, last year, our summer was mild and the ocean was cold. My children had to wear wet suits when they boogie boarded. That is not always the case. This may be another mild summer given our mild weather thus far this year. My ds is 13 and here are some things he would enjoy:

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/magicmountain/index.asp

Magic Mountain is a very fun place if your boys like roller coasters. It is about a 2 to 2 ½ hour drive from DL, but if you leave early in the a.m. and want to drive that far, your boys will not be disappointed!

On a smaller scale, right by DL is Knott’s Berry Farm. Lots of roller coasters for this age group and some shows too. The fried chicken dinner at their famous restaurant is yummy!

http://www.knotts.com/

Next to Knott’s Berry Farm is their water park. It’s not as good as the Raging Waters Park that Val recommended, but it is close and fun.

http://www.knotts.com/soakcity/oc/index.shtml

Our favorite beach that is close to DL is Huntington Beach.

http://www.ci.huntington-beach.ca.us/

If you’d like to drive further south, Laguna Beach is just beautiful, and has some outstanding Mexican food restaurants.

http://www.lagunabeachinfo.org/

Ds said to tell you about The Block in Orange County. Within this fun shopping mall is the Van’s Skateboard Park. My son enjoys skateboarding, so if your boys feel like doing something like this while in town, this is a fun place. All skateboard equipment can be rented. My ds said you need your own skateboard though. ***UPDATE: I called the Van's Skate Park and you CAN rent skateboards for $5.00. So, this may be a fun few hours for your sons!

http://www.theblockatorange.com/static/node848.jsp

http://www.beachcalifornia.com/blokvan2.html

http://www.beachcalifornia.com/blokvan1.html

Hope this helps a bit. Have fun planning! J

Barbara

 

[Mom2Belle&PeterPan]

PS Carol and all,

Another small fun place to visit is Balboa Island. It has a fun zone.

http://www.transit-rider.com/ca.orangecounty/balboaislandferry.cfm

http://sandy-travels.com/balboa.shtml

If you want a day trip, a trip to Catalina Island is always fun on a hydrofoil boat. You can see Catalina from San Pedro Harbor, we will cruise right by it on August 20th!

http://www.catalina.com/main.html

Barbara

 

[Mom2Belle&PeterPan]

Hey Guys,

I know we have some time before our cruise, but I found this site www.cheapestees.com If anyone wants to use them, use Coupon Code: BNNS04 at checkout.Reneé

Thanks Renee'! I'm saving this, and will peruse it soon! Appreciate the info.!

Barbara

 

[kmiles]

Reading their reports it seems like the 10-day Holiday cruisers are really enjoying themselves. I priced the 2006 10-day online and it returned a $2500 per person rate for a Cat. 11!!! That's WAY more than I paid for this cruise!